Latest news with #US-born
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Indian-American undergrad from MIT torches alma mater and Israel at graduation ceremony
Megha Vemuri TOI correspondent from Washington : At an already fractious time in US academia, an Indian-American undergrad at the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) torched her own alma mater's ties to the Israeli military and spoke up for Palestine in the face of growing pressure from the Trump administration on US institutions to clamp down on criticism of Israel. Megha Vemuri, a senior class president at MIT, did not hold back during a graduation ceremony on Thursday, accusing Israel of trying to "wipe Palestine off the face of the earth," and lamenting "it is a shame that MIT is a part of it." "Right now, while we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza," Vemuri, who completed her undergraduate degree in computer science, neuroscience, and linguistics and served as president of the graduating class, said in remarks that was greeted with cheers from students at the convocation. Vemuri trained her guns on MIT itself, recalling that students scored a major victory earlier this year, forcing MIT to end its partnership with Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons manufacturer, whose drones and surveillance systems are saod to have been widely used in Israeli attacks on Gaza. "The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with. As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like O céu da Argentina está mais Azul Azul Clique aqui Undo Support aid efforts, call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding that MIT cuts the ties," Vemuri said. MIT President Sally Kornbluth, who spoke immediately after Vemuri, ignored her criticism of MIT, and while acknowledging the institution valued freedom of expression she said "today is about the graduates," a sentiment shared by critics who accused her of political grandstanding instead of focusing on academics. "Graduation speeches are meant to inspire, not divide. Turning a shared moment into a personal political stage, especially with such a charged issue, is unfair to fellow students," one critic wrote on social media, where clips of her speech went viral. Others found her remarks courageous and inspirational. "Her speech makes me proud as an Indian! Well done here, on the right side of history," read one of hundreds of reactions on X, even as more extreme critics doxxed her and warned that she would never be able to get a job. Vemuri's remarks came even as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would deny visas to foreign nationals who come to the United States to foment hatred against the Jewish community. While few details are available on the young undergrad, she appears to be a US-born daughter of immigrants from India. Her social media profile shows she went to school in Alpharetta, Georgia, home to many healthcare, insurance, and manufacturing companies.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Body camera shows federal agent arrest undocumented parent near Austin school
AUSTIN (KXAN) – At 8:16 a.m. on April 30, a group of students waited outside Dobie Middle School in Austin for class to start. School buses were making drop-offs, as Texas Department of Public Safety troopers pulled over Omar Gallardo Rodriguez and a woman he called his wife, Denisse Parra Vargas. School footage KXAN viewed shows students could see part of the traffic stop that led to federal authorities transporting the couple and their three children – two of whom were born in the United States – to Mexico a week later. The traffic stop lasted nearly an hour. DPS body camera video obtained by KXAN shows two troopers walking up to the white pickup truck and explaining, in Spanish, they stopped the couple because of expired plates. Troopers asked the driver, Rodriguez, if he had lived in Mexico and how long they lived in the U.S. Texas students worry 'no one is going to be home for me' amid deportation push The troopers walked back to their car, and dash camera video shows less than 10 minutes later a federal agent removed Rodriguez from the truck and placed him in handcuffs. Rodriguez had been deported three times before, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A judge had issued a court order for Parra Vargas to leave the country back in 2019, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The couple explained to officers their oldest daughter had traveled with Parra Vargas to the U.S., but their youngest two children were born in the country. The federal agent asked Parra Vargas where her kids were, and she answered that they were at school. 'I want to take them with me please,' Parra Vargas told the federal agent. SOURCES: ICE sends family of five to Mexico, including US-born kids, after DPS detainment near Austin school During the traffic stop, the federal agent told the couple they would fit Parra Vargas with an ankle monitor and allow her to pick up her children but instructed her to report to their offices within 24 hours. 'When she comes back tomorrow, they will send them off together as a family – and we won't prosecute him [Rodriguez] because he has been deported before,' the federal agent is heard saying on body camera video. DHS said in a tweet, and in a statement to KXAN, it was giving undocumented mothers facing deportation the option to take their U.S.-born children with them or leave them with a designated person – pushing back on assertions the federal agency was deporting children who are U.S. citizens. The legal team for Parra Vargas and her family said, for many families, it's an impossible choice. 'DHS is taking U.S. citizen children and telling them and telling their parents that they will be separated unless they give up their home and country,' Texas Civil Rights Senior Attorney Daniel Hotoum told KXAN on May 9. According to DPS officials, the traffic stop was conducted by a regional tactical strike team – and in this case troopers were working alongside a Homeland Security investigator. The state agency has not disclosed why it was operating near the school or if Rodriguez was the target of the strike team operation. Video shows traffic stop near school that led to ICE sending family to Mexico At the start of President Donald Trump's second presidential term, DHS rescinded a long-standing policy that discouraged immigration enforcement on or near 'sensitive locations' such as schools or churches. Since that policy change in January, Texas school districts have been working to develop guidance for campuses in the event that immigration enforcement officers attempt to enter a school or request specific information about a student. Austin Independent School District officials have publicly released their guidance for situations in which law enforcement, including ICE, attempt to enter a campus or access student records. The policy includes instructions to call the district's legal team to review the identification and legal documentation presented. The district told KXAN it was aware that an Austin ISD parent was detained near the Dobie campus. District officials have not provided details as to its response or review of the traffic stop involving a federal immigration agent. Investigative Photojournalist Richie Bowes, News Producer Santos Gonzalez, Evening Anchor Daniel Marin, Assignment Desk Manager Chelsea Moreno, News Producer Jose Torres, and KXAN+ Anchor Esmeralda Zamora contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Targeting foreign students, Trump hits a US lifeline
Now back at the White House, Trump's message has changed drastically. Hoping to crush an academic establishment he sees as his enemy, Trump has launched unprecedented actions against international students that experts warn are likely to decrease enrollment and could trigger a brain drain of top talent. In a matter of days, the Trump administration has sought to bar all foreign students from Harvard University, one of most prestigious US institutions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to "aggressively" revoke visas to students from China, long the top source of students to the United States although recently eclipsed by India. Rubio has already yanked thousands of visas, largely over students' involvement in activism critical of Israel's offensive in Gaza but also over minor traffic violations and other infractions. "The US, historically, has a reputation around the world of having a very open atmosphere for scientific and technical research, and that draws a lot of people, especially people from countries that don't necessarily have that kind of openness," said Phoebe Sengers, a professor in information science and science and technology studies at Cornell University. She said it's certain the number of international students will "plummet in the coming years." "The challenge with that is that students who would come here don't just disappear. They will stay in their home countries or go to other countries where they can get a technical education, and they're going to be building businesses in those countries and competing directly with our firms," she said. Universities as 'enemy' US universities have long been reputed to be among the world's best, and among the most expensive to attend. International students who pay full tuition are vital sources of revenue, as are federal research grants, which the Trump administration is also slashing. The State Department has justified its crackdown by pointing to "theft" of US technology by China, and Trump has spoken of making more spots for US-born students. But Trump's inner circle has long made clear its intentions to battle universities -- whose often left-leaning faculties, high costs and selectivity make them perfect foils for a presidency centered on countering elites and foreigners. Vice President JD Vance stated in no uncertain terms his hope to destroy the power of academe in a 2021 speech entitled, "The universities are the enemy." Yet Vance himself rose from poverty to power through Yale Law School, one of the country's most elite institutions. Universities have an outsized influence on the economy, with international students directly contributing $50 billion to the US economy in 2023, according to the US Commerce Department. Many top US entrepreneurs are immigrants who came as students, including Trump's ally Elon Musk, with around half of the Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children. Krishna Bista, a professor at Morgan State University who studies international student mobility, said the tone set by the Trump administration "could deter even the most qualified applicants" from the United States. "It's not just a visa issue -- it affects students' sense of safety, belonging and academic freedom," he said. "Other nations are building policies to recruit talent -- it's irrational for the US to push it away." The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently offered fast-track admissions to Harvard students whom Trump wants to force to transfer. Growing competition The United States across administrations has wooed international students, although the number also declined following the September 11, 2001 attacks due to greater curbs of all visas. A world-record 1.1 million international students studied in the United States in the 2023-24 academic year, according to a State Department-backed report of the Institute of International Education. But international students on average make up just under six percent of the US university population -- far below Britain, the second top destination for international students, where the figure is 25 percent. The opportunity to change course may have already slipped away. "Even if everything was turned around tomorrow, our reputation as an open and welcoming society has already taken significant damage," Sengers said. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Targeting foreign students, Trump hits a US lifeline
On the campaign trail last year, then-candidate Donald Trump proposed handing US residency cards automatically to international students when they earn diplomas, bemoaning that they were leaving to form successful companies in China and India. Now back at the White House, Trump's message has changed drastically. Hoping to crush an academic establishment he sees as his enemy, Trump has launched unprecedented actions against international students that experts warn are likely to decrease enrollment and could trigger a brain drain of top talent. In a matter of days, the Trump administration has sought to bar all foreign students from Harvard University, one of most prestigious US institutions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to "aggressively" revoke visas to students from China, long the top source of students to the United States although recently eclipsed by India. Rubio has already yanked thousands of visas, largely over students' involvement in activism critical of Israel's offensive in Gaza but also over minor traffic violations and other infractions. "The US, historically, has a reputation around the world of having a very open atmosphere for scientific and technical research, and that draws a lot of people, especially people from countries that don't necessarily have that kind of openness," said Phoebe Sengers, a professor in information science and science and technology studies at Cornell University. She said it's certain the number of international students will "plummet in the coming years." "The challenge with that is that students who would come here don't just disappear. They will stay in their home countries or go to other countries where they can get a technical education, and they're going to be building businesses in those countries and competing directly with our firms," she said. - Universities as 'enemy' - US universities have long been reputed to be among the world's best, and among the most expensive to attend. International students who pay full tuition are vital sources of revenue, as are federal research grants, which the Trump administration is also slashing. The State Department has justified its crackdown by pointing to "theft" of US technology by China, and Trump has spoken of making more spots for US-born students. But Trump's inner circle has long made clear its intentions to battle universities -- whose often left-leaning faculties, high costs and selectivity make them perfect foils for a presidency centered on countering elites and foreigners. Vice President JD Vance stated in no uncertain terms his hope to destroy the power of academe in a 2021 speech entitled, "The universities are the enemy." Yet Vance himself rose from poverty to power through Yale Law School, one of the country's most elite institutions. Universities have an outsized influence on the economy, with international students directly contributing $50 billion to the US economy in 2023, according to the US Commerce Department. Many top US entrepreneurs are immigrants who came as students, including Trump's ally Elon Musk, with around half of the Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children. Krishna Bista, a professor at Morgan State University who studies international student mobility, said the tone set by the Trump administration "could deter even the most qualified applicants" from the United States. "It's not just a visa issue -- it affects students' sense of safety, belonging and academic freedom," he said. "Other nations are building policies to recruit talent -- it's irrational for the US to push it away." The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently offered fast-track admissions to Harvard students whom Trump wants to force to transfer. - Growing competition - The United States across administrations has wooed international students, although the number also declined following the September 11, 2001 attacks due to greater curbs of all visas. A world-record 1.1 million international students studied in the United States in the 2023-24 academic year, according to a State Department-backed report of the Institute of International Education. But international students on average make up just under six percent of the US university population -- far below Britain, the second top destination for international students, where the figure is 25 percent. The opportunity to change course may have already slipped away. "Even if everything was turned around tomorrow, our reputation as an open and welcoming society has already taken significant damage," Sengers said. "It would take a concerted effort to bring things back to where they were four months ago." sct/sla
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Targeting Foreign Students, Trump Hits A US Lifeline
On the campaign trail last year, then-candidate Donald Trump proposed handing US residency cards automatically to international students when they earn diplomas, bemoaning that they were leaving to form successful companies in China and India. Now back at the White House, Trump's message has changed drastically. Hoping to crush an academic establishment he sees as his enemy, Trump has launched unprecedented actions against international students that experts warn are likely to decrease enrollment and could trigger a brain drain of top talent. In a matter of days, the Trump administration has sought to bar all foreign students from Harvard University, one of most prestigious US institutions, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed to "aggressively" revoke visas to students from China, long the top source of students to the United States although recently eclipsed by India. Rubio has already yanked thousands of visas, largely over students' involvement in activism critical of Israel's offensive in Gaza but also over minor traffic violations and other infractions. "The US, historically, has a reputation around the world of having a very open atmosphere for scientific and technical research, and that draws a lot of people, especially people from countries that don't necessarily have that kind of openness," said Phoebe Sengers, a professor in information science and science and technology studies at Cornell University. She said it's certain the number of international students will "plummet in the coming years." "The challenge with that is that students who would come here don't just disappear. They will stay in their home countries or go to other countries where they can get a technical education, and they're going to be building businesses in those countries and competing directly with our firms," she said. US universities have long been reputed to be among the world's best, and among the most expensive to attend. International students who pay full tuition are vital sources of revenue, as are federal research grants, which the Trump administration is also slashing. The State Department has justified its crackdown by pointing to "theft" of US technology by China, and Trump has spoken of making more spots for US-born students. But Trump's inner circle has long made clear its intentions to battle universities -- whose often left-leaning faculties, high costs and selectivity make them perfect foils for a presidency centered on countering elites and foreigners. Vice President JD Vance stated in no uncertain terms his hope to destroy the power of academe in a 2021 speech entitled, "The universities are the enemy." Yet Vance himself rose from poverty to power through Yale Law School, one of the country's most elite institutions. Universities have an outsized influence on the economy, with international students directly contributing $50 billion to the US economy in 2023, according to the US Commerce Department. Many top US entrepreneurs are immigrants who came as students, including Trump's ally Elon Musk, with around half of the Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or their children. Krishna Bista, a professor at Morgan State University who studies international student mobility, said the tone set by the Trump administration "could deter even the most qualified applicants" from the United States. "It's not just a visa issue -- it affects students' sense of safety, belonging and academic freedom," he said. "Other nations are building policies to recruit talent -- it's irrational for the US to push it away." The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recently offered fast-track admissions to Harvard students whom Trump wants to force to transfer. The United States across administrations has wooed international students, although the number also declined following the September 11, 2001 attacks due to greater curbs of all visas. A world-record 1.1 million international students studied in the United States in the 2023-24 academic year, according to a State Department-backed report of the Institute of International Education. But international students on average make up just under six percent of the US university population -- far below Britain, the second top destination for international students, where the figure is 25 percent. The opportunity to change course may have already slipped away. "Even if everything was turned around tomorrow, our reputation as an open and welcoming society has already taken significant damage," Sengers said. "It would take a concerted effort to bring things back to where they were four months ago." People hold signs in rally in support of international students at Harvard University AFP
